9 Things to Know About European Delivery of Your Porsche
Take Delivery in Europe and Porsche Includes Free Shipping!
If you are planning on buying a brand new Porsche from your local dealer anyway (or BMW, or Mercedes, or Audi, or Volvo), you should know about all the perks you get if you choose European delivery. Now, Porsche doesn't offer a discount like some other companies do, but when you consider all you get by picking the car up at the factory in Leipzig or Zuffenhausen, it is a bargain. Your local dealer will take care of all the paperwork, Porsche will pay to ship it home for you, and their travel office will even help you book your trip. Read on for more details about everything involved in the Porsche European Delivery Program.
1. Start at Your Local Dealer
When you choose European delivery, you start at your local dealer the same way you would if you were buying a car off the lot. The dealer will walk you though the models, colors, options and accessories, and you will negotiate your price and financing like normal. Choosing European delivery just means there are a few more forms to fill out, and you may need your passport. Plan on picking the car up at least 12 weeks from the day you are ordering it, and remember they are closed on Saturday, Sunday, and German Holidays. Your Porsche dealer will know the specifics.
2. Book Your Discounted Lufthansa Flight
Included with the Porsche European delivery program are special discounted Lufthansa flights. You can save 35% on business or first class, or 30% on economy class, but why would you choose to fly economy if you are a Porsche buyer? Lufthansa flies from Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., and their fleet includes 14 of the latest Airbus A380 jetliners, among other state of the art planes. Porsche will help you book your flight, and your local dealer may even have a person who specializes in this.
3. Get an International Driving Permit
You can get an international driving permit at your local AAA office, usually for just $15. This may not be required in Germany, or the rest of the European Union, but it is a good idea to have. It typically includes a helpful pamphlet with rules you should know in the major countries, and sometimes even translations of common road signs.
4. Book a Nice Hotel, on Porsche
The European delivery program includes a free night at some of the nicest hotels in Stuttgart or Leipzig, depending on which vehicle you are picking up. In Leipzig, you can stay in the Steigenberger Grandhotel Handelshof or the Marriott. In Stuttgart, you have your choice of the Graf Zeppelin or the Althoff Am Schlossgarten Hotels. Porsche will dispatch a shuttle to pick you up at the hotel and take you to the delivery center, as well as pay your cab fare from the airport to the hotel.
5. Enjoy Private Factory and Museum Tours
Every European delivery trip includes a private tour of the factory the car was built at and the Porsche museum. You'll see the very assembly line and workers who put your car together in the state of the art facility. The Porsche Museum is packed with street cars and race cars from the long history of the marque. Included in the tour is lunch at the VIP dining area, and a framed photo from Porsche's professional photography team.
6. Track (or Off-Road) Your Car or Theirs
When you pick up your new Porsche at the factory, included in the price is a track day experience or, in the case of the Cayenne, an off-road experience. Porsche maintains a 6 kilometer off-road circuit at Leipzig with a variety of terrain and obstacles to test out your Cayenne, or one of theirs. There are also road courses for you to wring out the track performance of a variety of Porsche models.
7. Tour Europe
When you pick up your new Porsche, it's not just a quick visit to the factory and museum and you are on your way. Included in the program are registration, temporary plates, and insurance for 16 days of driving in Europe, so get out there and see the sights. If you go when there is a threat of winter weather, Porsche will gladly lend you a set of all-season tires to use for up to two weeks. They can even loan you a European GPS unit, or install the maps of Europe in your car's navigation system, though there may be an additional charge.
8. Drop It Off to Be Shipped
When you have visited all the great cities of Europe, and driven all the great roads, just drop your car off in Leipzig or Zuffenhausen to be shipped home. If neither of those cities are convenient, you have your choice of 15 other drop off locations for a small additional fee. You drive up, hand over the car, and Porsche and the shippers take care of everything else: Loading it, securing it, shipping it, customs paperwork, tariffs, and even delivery to your door once it arrives in the USA.
9. Wait 4 to 8 Weeks for Redelivery
Depending on where you live, once you return to the US, you may have to wait up to two months for your car to arrive via ship and train/truck. Then, depending on your local dealer, it may be unloaded right in your driveway, or you may have to pick it up at the dealer. Nothing else has to be done. The local paperwork and DMV registration is done by the dealer, and all the American safety and emissions equipment was installed before it left the factory. All you have to do is enjoy your new car, knowing that you are one of the few hundred people in the US smart enough to get a vacation included in the price.
Considering European delivery of your next car? There are plenty of people who can answer specific questions on the Rennlist forums. Want to share your experiences? Just click and add to the thread: 9 Things to Know About European Delivery of Your Porsche.
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